Saltmarsh V
The boy was standing down by the river, staring at something in the water. The man called to the boy, demanding he get back to work. But the boy didn't move. The man called again, discipline in his voice. When the boy did not listen again, the man gripped his pitchfork hard in his hands and stomped through the field to the rivers edge. The anger left his body when he saw what the boy had seen. A body was lying on the bank of the river, face down. It wore tight fitting black leather, brown patches on the shoulders and and a weathered belt sporting an empty knife sheath. Its black hair was once slicked back, but the water had loosened it into long strands now stuck to the damp earth. "Go inside." said the man, his voice calm and firm. The boy did not move. "It's alright. Go and get your mother." This time the boy listened. When the boy was gone the man knelt down and grasped the hair of the figure, lifting it enough to see the face. The man grimaced. The body...